One important approach to sustainable development, which at the same time gives
a good quality and safe product and has seen intense growth in the country, is
organic farming. The Republic of Macedonia has excellent conditions for the
development of organic farming due to the extensive farming mainly in the
highlands and the adoption of the Law on Organic Farming followed by
appropriately defined agrarian policy. In Republic of Macedonia there is a formal
legal framework upon which several associations of producers of organic food
have been formed. Nevertheless, associations are facing problems such as
insufficient quantity for sale, poor market organization and division occurs in
societies when in one region there are several manufacturers for the same
product. In terms of managing these issues, there emerges the need for a new
approach to management whose base is the multidimensionality of the quality, its
operation and function in all spheres of social life.
By applying the concept of Total Quality Management - TQM as a way of
organizing, the associations of producers of organic products have the potential to
win and maintain the market. This paper attempts to answer the question of how
TQM can improve the organization of associations of producers of organic
products. The research in the paper is based on analysis of data obtained through
interviews with the members of associations of producers of organic products in
Republic of Macedonia on a previously prepared questionnaire with qualitative
and quantitative data as well as their published information.